Malta

ry, rocky and almost without vegetation, Malta was initially very hard to swallow! The tenacity and the spirit of sacrifice of the new owners was really put to the test. The natural resources were modest and the conditions of defence were mediocre. The first impressions report that the Hospitallers found their new land disheartening, but during the two centuries spent in Rhodes they had acquired a maritime mentality and their long experience did not fail to offer solutions to the numerous problems.

The only positive element was the condition of the coast: two very large and deep inlets could host numerous ships of notable tonnage and size. The two ports could be used immediately to offer more than adequate refuge for the fleet, allowing also to manoeuvre with ease. The problem regarding the installation of the war fleet was a decisive factor especially if we consider that the defence of the island was initially to be entrusted to the fleet in case of attack, as the fortifications on the island did not constitute any sort of obstacle.

The ventures undertaken in the following years were numerous. It was a period during which the Order seemed to be acquiring a deeper and deeper conscience of the role it was called to carry out. The military actions of its Captains would make history richer, not only for the importance of the single episodes but because they would bear witness to how constant was the commitment of all the Order's members in performing their institutional tasks.

From the first months of their stay they worked incessantly and even though, from a strategic point of view, the island had a position of great value, however much effort they exerted they could not fortify it completely.

Gran Master Fra' Jean de La Vallette exhorting his Knights on the ramparts of Malta.

The amazing thing was that the Turks had not already utilised it themselves as a stronghold and the only possible answer to such a consideration was in the total conviction of the Crescent not to have any rivals in the Mediterranean. It would therefore have been useless for them to start such a complex and expensive undertaking as the one the Knights were beginning.

On July 21st 1547, while the ships were engaged on a mission, the corsair Dragut, one of the cleverest and most dangerous Turkish Captains, was so bold as to land on the island with a group of soldiers and capture three hundred of its inhabitants. It is difficult to establish whether this was an act of courage or a demonstrative action. The venture of Dragut showed, however, that Islam, even though engaged in the conquest of Eastern Europe, continued to consider itself master of the Mediterranean and warned its eternal enemies that it would soon be putting the Knights on their mettle.

Suleiman and his Admirals made it quite clear that they also had plans to conquer Italy. In 1550 Massa and Sorrento were sacked and many times during the following years Muslim ships sailed up the Tiber, pushing themselves as far as the doors of Rome. In the first months of 1564 news came from Constantinople that Suleiman intended to launch his armies on a new and huge undertaking. The old Sultan was the ruler of an immense empire but he still had one ambition to realise: the conquest of Rome, the capital of Christianity. A dream that he dared not to confess to himself but that had been obsessing him for a long time.

Between the Red Apple, as the Turks called Rome, and his scimitar, there was only the island of the Knights: a stronghold from where they could launch their ships on speedy and deadly missions. An army, whose objective was Italy, could not tolerate having such a military base behind its back without running the risk of seeing its supplies cut off. Malta was a fortress to be conquered and this was an occasion to eliminate the Hospitaller Knights forever. The Christian powers were unable to reach an agreement, eternally divided as they were by interests and jealousies of various kinds. They did not heed the warnings of Pope Pius IV who expressed his concern for the imminent danger many times and with energy. The organisational effort that the Turkish Empire was facing was exceptional and showed that Constantinople was preparing for a long and difficult war. In many parts of the Empire massive recruitment of men was carried out and the number of ships being prepared was impressive.

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